Google accidentally published internal Search documentation to GitHub
What is the significance of the documents being released under an Apache 2.0 license?
The significance of the documents being released under an Apache 2.0 license is that it grants anyone who obtains a copy of the documents a "perpetual, worldwide, non-exclusive, no-charge, royalty-free, irrevocable copyright license" to them. This means that the documents can be freely accessed, used, and distributed by anyone without any legal repercussions. In this case, it allowed the sensitive internal documents about Google's search engine ranking to be freely available online for anyone to examine and analyze.
How did Google respond to the authenticity of the leaked documents?
Google confirmed the authenticity of the leaked documents to The Verge, stating, “We would caution against making inaccurate assumptions about Search based on out-of-context, outdated, or incomplete information2. We’ve shared extensive information about how Search works and the types of factors that our systems weigh, while also working to protect the integrity of our results from manipulation.”
What specific technical documents did Google accidentally publish to GitHub?
Google accidentally published a big stash of internal technical documents to GitHub, which partially detailed how the search engine ranks webpages1. The leak contained a ton of API documentation for Google's "ContentWarehouse," which appears to be a search index. The documents were written by programmers for programmers and relied on a lot of background information that would likely only be known by those working on the search team.